This application deals with improvements in safety and functionality for unmanned rotorcraft. Safety is promoted by improvements that reduce flyaway risk while enhancing accountability or that position a multicopter for deployment from an elevated position, and functionality is increased by overcoming limitations on flight duration and lifting capabilities. Recent years have seen an increase in the popularity of unmanned aircraft, which are guided remotely. These unmanned aircraft are sometimes referred to as “drones,” and come in a plurality of forms including rotorcraft that use lift generated by rotating blades, referred to as rotors. Multirotor aircraft are those that have multiple lifting rotors, with names such as quadcopter and hexacopter to refer to aircraft with 4 and 6 lifting blades respectively. Rotorcraft with more than six blades are also known. Present implementations of such unmanned aircraft, while popular and providing recreational value and other utility, pose dangers and have limitations.
One major source of danger is uncontrolled flyaways, which can interfere with manned aircraft or cause injury from crashes, as well as ecological damage from unretrieved craft in trees, bodies of water, or other locations. Even if no actual personal injury or property damage results from an uncontrolled flyaway, there can be harm and irritation to the public from fear and anticipation of loss of control, especially when operators who cannot properly fly the craft operate them in an erratic manner near others. In addition, operators also suffer economic loss if the craft are destroyed or lost. And while unmanned aircraft can be destroyed or lost based on operator error, they can also suffer these fates under windy or gusty conditions. Present versions of unmanned rotorcraft that can be operated from an undisclosed location also threaten rights of non-operators through their lack of accountability, which can permit invasion of privacy when cameras are included in the craft and operators can hide themselves while illegally observing others.
Due to some of these dangers and risks, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) regulates (or in some locations, completely prohibits) the use of unmanned aircraft. Some of the regulations restrict the weight of the aircraft, and where and when they can be operated. The FAA also has rules and restrictions on other flying devices, such as kites and balloons. Specifically, the agency defines “kites” as “a framework, covered with paper, cloth, metal, or other material, intended to be flown at the end of a rope or cable, and having as its only support the force of the wind moving past its surfaces.” While kites provide enjoyment and do not have some of the drawbacks described above with unmanned aircraft (e.g., they can be flown in windier conditions and are tethered to a rope or cable), their operation is somewhat limited based on wind conditions and the manipulation of the rope or cable by the operator. The FAA allows use of “kites” or tethered balloons in locations where it restricts use of “unmanned aircraft.” Localities also impose restrictions on use of “drones” in areas where “kites” are allowed, such as Griffith Park near Los Angeles.
Two related limitations on the safety and functionality of unmanned aircraft arise from limited flight durations and low payload capacities. Many rotorcraft use batteries rather than gasoline engines. Electric power has many benefits over use of internal combustion engines (including lower noise and pollution, simplicity of starting, easier maintenance, and greater reliability), but the capacity and weight of existing batteries limits flight time to the discharge time of the batteries and restricts payload capacity. Short flight times and limited payload capacity, however, interfere with potential uses for the rotorcraft by, for example, public safety officials, naturalists, fishermen, journalists, and photographers. These individuals who observe crowds to watch for suspicious behavior, wait for wildlife or fish to enter a scene, wait for a newsworthy event, or wait for events to reach a time when aerial photography is needed (such as the time a wedding party exits a wedding ceremony) may not be able to use such rotorcraft if the batteries powering the craft last a short time and the craft must be launched from a safe position away from people or ground obstacles. Also, the limited payload capacity for unmanned copters (particularly if affordable and reasonably small) mean that only a few additional capabilities unrelated to flight and control (such as devices discussed below to treat medical emergencies or assist in rescue operations) can be added to any particular copter. Kites, while able to stay aloft in a steady wind for hours with relatively large payloads, can only do so in a relatively limited area, are too unsteady to function effectively as platforms for aerial photography, and cannot be “dispatched” to a different location. Similarly, traditional security cameras or other security devices can be mounted on towers or other elevated structures, but they lack the capability to examine an area of concern closely, to have two-way communications with people in distress or causing disruption, or to deliver medications or activate devices with precision during a crisis.
The systems, methods and devices described in this disclosure address one or more of the issues described above by providing embodiments of craft and related equipment that allow safe, accountable, and retrievable operation, and that can be positioned or equipped with specialized features that expand functionality, among other aspects. In addition, embodiments described herein also address concerns which give rise to current and potentially future restrictions by the FAA or other governmental entities on unmanned aircraft.